Color: Bay, with white socks on her front right and both of her back feet.

Type of Riding: I don't ride her yet, but she is going to a trainer to get trained. She will probity ride English, and i cant wait to ride her bareback!!

My Horse's Achievements: She followed me without me leading her, and she knows my voice, and whinnys whenever i say hi to her!!she also has let me done a "join up" with her, and she has inspired me to write a book about all of her adventures with all of her friends at the barn!

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My sister started riding at the barn that April was at. One day, my mom, sister and I went there just a few months after she got adopted so that i could see the barn and all of the horses. Once I saw April, I knew she was somthing special. I don't own her,yet, but we are probily going to lease her! :).

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The Weekly Whinnies V3I hope that all of you are well! Sorry that I didn't do the Weekly Whinnies last week I was very busy with a TON of summer things. So, for the news on the horses!!!! APRIL: April has been a little naughty this week. she haven't been wanting to lift up her back feet so we can pick them up to clean them. maybe something is stuck in her hooves or they hurt a lot? I have also been spending a lot of time with her in her pasture with her friends, Honey and Leo. all that do is take a water bucket out to the pasture and just read. And April, she just walks over and grazes with me. sometimes Leo comes over, but honey always just ignores me. oh well. APRILS QUOTE OF THE WEEK: if you see someone alone, walk over to them and cheer them up! TOBI is not going to be on Weekly Whinnies anymore because i don't see her and i don't really get any news on her anymore. im really sorry.

the features product this week is Absorbines Ultra Shield. it is INCREDABLE, when you spray it on your horses, the flies don't even come close to the horses. and you can spray it on other animals as well, and it works out great! plus, it protects your horse from about 12 different bugs that really bug your horse.

make sure to keep those comments coming!!! if you have any horse product that you adore, post the name of the product and why you love it so much!! that's it for this week! visit Aprils blog every Wednesday for the nickers on the news.

. The farrier from our Equine Hospital came over yesterday morning and removed the wedge shoes from Whiskey. He is sound and 100% ok now! I have another very busy day. Have a great Thursday Whinny’s, love & hugs ♡ . ***HOTD Millie 270043 ***HOTM Copper 264309 .

The Weekly Whinnies! Volume 2Hey everyone! Thanks for the great comment on the idea! APRIL: April ALMOST got ridden today! *Do a little snoopy happy dance*. Well, not be me, but the barn owners granddaughter. But she has more experience, so it is the smarter choice. And by she almost got on April, i mean she was going to hop right on, but it was a little overwhelming at the barn (little kids running around, dogs barking at my mom, etc). So instead the granddaughter did the exercise where you lean over Aprils back and reach to her belly. It helps!! She also went up and down the mounting block to get her used to the motion of you going up to mount her. I wish that i was the person about to mount onto April, but that time will come. APRILS QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Dont judge a horse by its breed. TOBI: sorry, but there has not been any new news for Tobi :( TOBIS QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Horses can always change. The Featured Product of the week is... the Wintec 500 Jumper saddle! Check it out at your closest Dover Saddlery-its SO comfy!

Make sure to keep those comments coming! Remember, all Featured Products of the week comments (like you have something that you LOVE and you want to recommend it)go on tobis blog, and all comments about The Weekly Whinnies go onto Aprils blog.

A special shout out to Cheryl and Cisco. They are SO kind, and they make me grin with the praise that she gives April. Thanks Cheryl and Cisco!

Well, that's all for this week! Leaving off, have a horsey week, and see you next Wednesday!! ~April and Tobi

weekly whinnies, great idea..So far so good, only one day of rain on my vacation, the long range says clear sailing until Sunday, hee haw, I'm just checking off stuff on my "to do list" I love a list...we left votes, Love Donna Lee

The Weekly Whinnies!!!!Hey everyone! This is the first time that I have tried out the "Weekly Whinnies"-all the info on April and Tobi every week! I hope that you like it :) April has been dealing with something that NO ONE likes-flies! She doesn't really like her fly mask and her fly blanket, so she has been going all natural like her friends in the wild-fly mask/blanket free. We put fly spray on her though- as well as this really good product called "swat." yep, its called that! Its a pinkish substance that you put on bug bites to prevent the bugs from coming back. and it WORKS!! Its amazing the bugs don't even get close to where we put that on! Last week April got her shots-and after that she wasn't being her regular self. In two days, there was a HUGE swelling on her neck where the shots were-not good. The vet came and he told us that we had to give April these meds to get the swelling down. We did for a few days and it worked!! Aprils saying of the week. "We Mustangs are the mutts of the horse world-which means that we have every good quality of all the other horse breeds!" Tobi- I haven't really seen Tobi that much, but she is doing well! Tobi's saying of the week- "Don't base people (or horses!) on a stereotype. Really get to know them!"

Every week we will have a featured product that everyone should know about. If YOU have any suggestions about what should be featured, post it on Tobis blog! (TOBIS, not Aprils!) This weeks featured product is...Swat by Farnam! This paste you put on your horse and it keeps all of the flies out of reach from your horses.

Okay, that's it for this week! Come back next Wednesday for another Weekly Whinnies! What did you think of this? All comments can be posted on Aprils blog as well as suggestions, comments and shout outs for the horses! (all shout outs on either Tobis or Aprils blogs will be put on the Weekly Whinnies!) Thanks for reading! ~April and Tobi

April Update!wow! sorry, i haven't been on Aprils blog for a while. LOTS of things have happened. Aprils friend, Atticus, moved to another barn. Everyone was sad to see him go, but that barn is also where i ride, so that i good :) April is also A MARE now!!! her birthday was on the 10th, so happy birthday April! sorry im out of time i will blog again later

Thanks, we are honoredA very special thanks to Steve, who never gave up on us and did such a wonderful job with Cisco (and me). Also, a special thanks to Rose for nominating us. And my son who enouraged me every step of the way until his death. My husband who supports me and feeds when I'm away. And my deepest gratitude to everyone who voted and supported us this month. Hoping you enjoyed our journey, Cheryl & Cisco

CiscoThank you all!!!! I will never know everything Cisco has been through, and I don't want to know. All I know for sure is his tongue had nearly been severed in half, probably either from a really harsh bit or having his head tied around, and his R eye socket fractured (again, don't wanna know). Steve said he's pretty sure at some point someone attempted to train Cisco to buck, to this day he WILL NOT tolerate a flank cinch. I believe that Cisco was loved and treated well early on, then things just went south for him. I'm also sure he's been through mutiple sales, with his striking looks and proud manner always finding a buyer that's sure he would be the one to "fix" him. I remember Steve telling me at one point that Cisco wasn't only PTSD, but MPD (multiple personality disorder) and probably Bi-polar to boot. One thing everyone has remarked on wherever we go, is how Cisco watches for me. Whenever I am in sight, his eyes follow me. It's an awesome feeling to have that kind of connetion with a horse. Eventually, I think Cisco would have been on one of those one-way trips to Canada or Mexico, instead we plan on continuing our adventures...

3 LessREALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE SUPPORT, THANKS! Steve and Amanda returned to Texas last summer,and Cali, Mystic and Cinco went home to their new training facility. I have been out for a few lessons, and a clinic they did in November. Cisco did well, and was voted by the clinic participants the easiest horse to do groundwork with (he had us switch and do some groundwork with each other's horses). Joe, my farrier stopped in to watch for a while, and when he was out next he told me that while he knew I had been riding and doing clinics with Cisco, he couldn't believe how calm he was. He remembered watching Steve work with him in the "early days"

AND RIDING...THANKS FOR ALL THE VOTES. Rest of our trail ride was uneventful, except for the heat(high 90's) and for one rider who started to get heat stroke. Christy was able to get hold of her husband (cell service iffy there) and he drove out and picked her up, and her horse was also ponied back. We went through some pretty steep ravines and overgrown trails (to shorten the distance, we cut through on a hiking trail). When we got back, I was so glad to get OUT of the saddle. I think Cisco was just as glad to have me out of the saddle! We had been out over 9 hours. I stayed over that Sunday night at the B&B, and Cisco and I got a good night's rest before heading home. I had put in 38 hours in the saddle in 5 days, and Cisco had to have his cinch taken up 2 notches by the end!

We Keep Riding...REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE SUPPORT, THANKS! We had a great, if slightly late, lunch on the trail. As we were starting back, Christy (owner of the B&B), realized she had misjudged the trail and we were still 3-4 hours out. At this point, 2 people opted out and left when the lunch truck went back (one horse was ponied, the other ridden back by Trevor's wife). I decided to hang in there. Everyone wanted to trot to get back sooner, and the 2 horses ahead of us hit out in a long trot. Cisco decided to really move out and catch them, and I realized I was too tired to post. When I pulled him up, it was rodeo time! He got in 4-5 bucks (he was REALLY mad), before I was able to yield his hindquarters and settle him down. Trevor commented "I thought you liked to dance!" (Earlier, I had been moving his hindquarters back & forth in a kind of rumba). Replied "Dancing is one thing, jitterbugging is something else".

THE LONG RIDE...THANKS, EVERYONE! Was supposed to go on a moonlight ride, but I was getting pretty tired, so passed on the ride that night (we had been spending 8 hours in the saddle every day). The last day, Sunday, we were to do 4-5 hour trail ride, with a lunch break out on the trail. Cisco handled everything beautifully, EXCEPT for the wooden bridge over a ravine. He walked up to it like he was going over, then simply planted his feet (4 feet in concrete!) and refused to budge. It took the clinician a half hour, and then Cisco walked across calmly. I had offered to dismount, but was told no, he needed to learn to go over whatever I asked him to. (That was the only thing he tried to refuse the whole 5 days)

Jumping and SwimmingThe fourth day, we went out to the jump course, and worked on that for a while. I had never liked jumping Cisco, he would launch himself like he was jumping 5' over a 1' obstacle, but after working for a couple of hours, including having to meet oncoming riders over the jumps, he was doing so well; jumping just enough to clear the obstacle. We did a short trail ride, then broke for lunch (there was a 4 hr break each day to avoid the heat). That afternoon, we all took the horses for a swim in the tank (pond). Several of us had been taking the horses down to cool off in the water during the afternoons. I needed a little help getting on him bareback, and was pretty wobbly at first but Cisco actually moved to stay under me. Walked out in the water till it got deep, and then we were swimming. Cisco loved it, he groaned the entire time he was swimming like he does when having a good roll. That was only my 2nd time on him bareback, and the first time I had ever been on a swimming horse. Passed on the moonlight ride that night, too tired.

COWS!THANKS SO MUCH! Quickly learned that Cisco was fine with being ridden twice a day, he was always waiting for me at the gate to his paddock, it was like "Are we going to have more fun? What are we going to do next?" Next day, we started cow work after warming up. The 20 or so cows were brought in the arena, and we just rode around letting the horses get used to them, as some of them had never been around cows before. Then we learned how to "boil" the herd (get them in close together and milling), then we individually walked our horses thru and parted the herd. After that, we actually started cutting! Cisco was amazing, he locked on to whichever cow I picked out and stayed with it. That was thrilling. The 3rd day, we trailed the herd out to pasture in the morning, and did some more cutting, then trailed them back to the arena. Went back out in the evening, trailed them out to pasture, and worked cattle until the full moon came out, then continued working till nearly 10PM. Brought the cattle back in, and called it a night. Cisco LOVED it.

A BIG StepCannot believe how much support we are getting, thanks! Our next BIG step was a 5 day Parelli Horse Camp last June. I wasn't sure I could ride that much, but decided to go anyway. The first day was spent mostly on ground work and arena work, making sure everyone could sidepass, back at least 10 steps, and do rollbacks, and walk, trot and canter quietly. We also played some games, notably trying to keep another horse and ride from reaching the opposite side of the arena. It rained that afternoon, so we learned some knot tying before going back out to ride that evening. I was nervous when I found out that we would be riding twice daily, wasn't sure how Cisco would feel about that. We would ride in the morning, take a break in the heat of the day, then go out after an early supper and ride till dark or after (full moon week).

No More Bucking!THANKS FOR YOUR VOTES & SUPPORT!!! The Chiropractor pretty much adjusted everything, and said that the horse had been in pain for quite a while. Really made me feel badly - at least some of training problems I'm sure were related to him being in pain. He had also started bucking when asked to canter, this has resolved. And also, while he had gotten pretty good about his feet, he always really fussed about his L hind being done. He has been much better, even my farrier has remarked on what a change it has made. Cisco will usually now lift a hoof as soon as you bend down. The Chiropractor also pointed out that Cisco's R eye orbit had been fractured - and when you really look at him head on, his R eye is sunken a bit.

A Job OfferTHANKS, EVERYONE!!! Early last spring, we went to a clinic put on by the head trainer/farrier of a large metropoliton mounted police force (Houston). It was an ART Clinic: Attention, Respect,Trust. Did a lot of groundwork and obstacles in the mornings (including firecrackers while mounted) and then trail rode in the afternoons. At the end of the clinic, he asked if Cisco was for sale. When I told him no, he said that if I ever wanted to sell him or couldn't take care of him, would I please contact him, that Cisco would make a good police horse. I remarked that Cisco was too short and colored, and he replied "If I say he's tall enough, he's tall enough, and we are an equal opportunity employer". He also strongly suggested that I have Cisco seen by a chiropractor, which I did and it really has helped him.

I try flying!THANKS FOR YOUR VOTES & SUPPORT!!! In February of last year, Cisco became very nervous when I was riding in the pasture. There was a lot going on in the neighbor's pasture, it was very windy, and it was almost the last straw when Cinco decided to come see us. I shooed him away, then went to the south side of the pasture to ride. Cisco spooked at something and spun, and I didn't. Hate that feeling of waiting for the ground to come up. Lay there for a few seconds, wondering what was broke. Nothing seemed to hurt, so I got up, caught Cisco, and remounted (he was a little nervous - wondered if I was going to do that flying trick again, LOL). Rode for another half hour or so. When I removed my helmet (which I didn't always wear) I discovered it was nearly cracked in two. Now I never ride without one.

Cisco walks thru Fire!(Well, actually, it was more a hop over) THANKS!!! In the fall, I heard about a good clinic by 4Shepherds (Dallas mounted police), and decided to take Cisco. He was pretty nervous at first, even after groundwork, but once we got in the arena he started listening. They had us ride stirrup to stirrup in pairs, and Cisco jigged and pranced and atually did a piaffe before finally settling down. We did some fun stuff with flags, then played "leapfrog". Cisco was fine at the trot when leaving the other horses, but when I asked for a canter he BUCKED! They had some really neat obstacles, including a mattress. Cisco was so excited when they brought out the obstacles, it was something he was comfortable with. There was also really large flag, a tarp to unfold and fold while mounted. The only thing he fussed about was crossing the line of fire (real fire), but he finally went across. The clinicians said afterwards that they would never have believed after seeing how nervous he was at first that he would be so good with the scary obstacles.

We work things outTHANKS FOR YOUR VOTES & SUPPORT!!! Began feeling really sorry for Mystic by himself, so tried putting him with Cali and Cinco. Again, everything was fine for a few days, then Mystic went after Cinco and put him through a fence. (The horse just can't jump as high as he thinks he can, and the geldings just don't like the poor boy!). As a last resort, I put Cinco in my obstacle course area (200x200) and left the gate to one of the side pens open so he would have a shed to go in. Began letting him out in the big pasture during the day and bringing him at night. Cisco would still chase him, but it gradually lost some intensity. On a few occasions, I even caught Cinco "teasing" Cisco into chasing him. Cinco became very good at following me out to the pasture in the morning and coming in when called in the evening.

Cisco the Demon HOrsePlease leave a blog when you vote, thanks! The plan for Cali and Cinco was to just turn them out with my 3 in the big pasture (35 acres). Unfortunately, as a lot of plans go, this fell through. It worked for few days, then one morning I went out to feed and Cali & Cinco were in the neighbor's pasture. Found where they had gone thru the fence, we got that fixed, brought them home, then watched in horror as Cisco went after Cinco and put him through the fence again. Cisco honestly looked like a demon chasing Cinco (Cisco's 15.1, Cinco is around 17hh). Finally got them separated, and put Cali and Cinco in the 5 acre pasture by themselves.

My Herd DoublesTHANKS! Shortly after this, Steve and his wife decided to move back to California to help with the family business, and train on the side there. Unfortunately, they had 5 horses, and could only take 2. I offered to take Mystic, and wound up with Mystic, Cali, and Cinco. Steve had a hormone level run on Mystic (he had always acted studdy, and the mares were crazy about him when they were in heat), and it came back very high. Seems the BLM missed a testicle. It took 3 surgeries to finally locate it and remove it. (he had actually had had one previous surgery, the vet pointed out) I guess they just didn't care that he was a crypt instead of a gelding. Luckily, I had one pen that does not have a common fence with either of my pastures, so that's where Mystic lived until he was finally a gelding. Cisco also started bucking when asked to canter, so we pretty much quit cantering.

Cannonballs!Thanks for your votes and support, please leave a blog !!! Cisco had always hated stepping in water or mud, and when the clinician and everyone went down to the tank (pond) to let the horses play, at first he wouldn't even put a hoof in the water. He finally tentively took a few sips of water, and kept watching the other horses paw, play and roll and splash in the water. He finally started pawing at the water, too. Soon he was in, rolling, splashing and just having a great time. By the end of the clinic, he was galloping into the water off of a small bank and doing his version of a cannonball! It was so much fun seeing him have such a good time.

Our First Trail RideThanks for your votes and support, please leave a blog !!! A friend had been telling me about how great it was to ride and stay at the Grassland Bed 'n Barn (LBJ Nat'l Grasslands) , and when I saw a 4* Parelli clinician was doing a beginning trail riding clinic there, I decided to go. (Steve was so worried, he gave me a long list of do's and don'ts, and I was surprised he didn't tag along). We mostly did fine, some crow hopping, but nothing too bad. I was one of only 2 other ladies that at some point didn't have to dismount and lead my horse, although there was one time I would have, but was unable to. Cisco "balled up" (literally) when asked to walk thru a muddy spot, but backed up nicely (couldn't dismount - trees on one side, small drop off on the other). We went around up and down a steep slope. This was also Mother's Day weekend, and I think it did me good to get away from home.

Cisco Comes HomeThanks for your votes, Support and kindness! The first time I went out to see Cisco after John's death, he ran off the other 2 horses; a Belgian cross and a Friesien cross that were in with him and that usually bullied him. He came up to me, and just started flexing his head R & L, over and over. It was like he was saying "I know something's terribly wrong, does this help?" I hugged him and cried - he never liked flexing. Brought him home 2 weeks or so later after doing a 2-day clinic at Steve's. The first time I went to ride him at home - I looked out at my riding area (200x200) and all I could think of was how big it was. But we did fine, mostly, and I finally got brave enough to ride him out in the big pasture, slowly increasing how far we went out. We continued with lessons every couple weeks or so, and also did a couple of clinics Steve put on. And , of course, I rode him every chance I got. Sometimes the rides were a little scary, he can get very tight and nervous, but we just kept yielding HQ and doing circles/serpentines till we worked it through.

THANKS! We continued to work hard, with Cisco slated to finally come home Oct 1 of 2011. It would have been earlier, but had hand surgery Aug 1st, and 2 days before I would get the all clear to ride, I severely sprained my ankle (the ER Dr. thought it was fractured, so I had to see a podiatrist). Meanwhile, earlier that spring, Steve had applied for and was accepted for The Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover in Ft. Worth, Tx. I became co-owner of Mystic when they were afraid his auction price would be too high and I offered to split the cost with them. He placed 3rd in the Stars Division. (Stars because that summer, Mystic bucked, head butted Steve while he was riding, and injured him enough that he coudn't continue his training under saddle). I was up there every day to watch their progress. He placed 3rd in the Stars devision. That Saturday night, Sept 17th, we all met to watch the finals. As we were leaving, I received the phone call that would forever change my life - the news our only son was dead. It was a really, really bad time. He would have been 26 in a couple of weeks, and was only 2 classes away from completing his Bachelor's degree in Social Science. He wanted to either work in the prison system or do profiling with the FBI.

What Kind of Horse Do I Have?Leaving warm, sunny votes! After 6 months, Cisco came home for a break, and I was to continue with groundwork only. At this point, I decided to try and find out what kind of horse he was, so I sent hair samples to Cal Davis Vet Lab to be analyzed. The Breed Assignment came back 22% Holstiener, 18% Saddlebred, 12% Morgan, and whatever else he is was not in their data base of over 30 breeds. 3 months later, he went back to Steve's for more intensive training. After a month or so, I was able to ride him in a clinic Steve put on. He put on quite a show once saddled (he's very cold backed, and will kick up a fuss and buck when first lunged under saddle) Steve told me later that one woman had gone up to him and told him "You can't mean to let her RIDE that horse" and Steve said he replied "That's just Cisco, he's fine once the gunk gets worked out". Had a great time, even cantered him for the very first time. It was shortly after this that we tried him in a bosal. He hasn't had a bit in his mouth since. (Steve said bridling him was more my problem than Cisco's, but every time I put the snaffle in his mouth, all I could think of was his tongue).

Our First RideTHANKS FOR YOUR VOTES & SUPPORT!!! A couple months into his training, Steve told me that Cisco was just not progressing the way he should be, and wanted to to have his vet check him out. The vet didn't find anything wrong with his back or legs, but when he checked his teeth, discovered that Cisco's tongue had nearly been severed in half at some point, and also that he was 5, not 6 yrs old. Also, Steve said that he believed that Cisco had been encouraged, if not trained, to buck. Steve kept working with him, and one day (about 3 months into his training),Steve dismounted and asked if I wanted to ride him. About all that came out was a squeaky "Me!" I got on, and we walked and trotted in the round pen, and yes, at the trot he just GLIDES! Shortly after,I had Cisco registered as a grade Pinto. Month 4, and Steve told me that I was spending too much money (ever hear a trainer say that?) and maybe I would be better off with riding Meg and Cisco being a pasture pet. I told him that if Cisco came home, at some point I would try and ride him, and asked if we could do a couple of more months, and we did.

...and Cisco leavesAppreciate the support! I always vote when I blog. On Sept 1 of 2010, Steve and his wife arrived to pick up Cisco. He had told me that it probably wouldn't be easy to load him and that it might take an hour, the longest it had ever taken him to load a horse. 2 hours later, Cisco was finally loaded and ready to go to the trainer's! Steve told me I didn't want to know what they must have done to him to get him loaded so he could be delivered. I kept going out for lessons on Steve's school horse (and to see Cisco) and was told that Cisco had a LOT of problems/issues, was a VERY dangerous horse, and it would probably take a long time. I told him I was in love with that horse, and ready to spend the time and the money. Steve said the first time he saddled Cisco and turned him out in the arena, he bucked on and off for 3 hours. We kept going, and soon I was working with Cisco on ground work as well as riding the lesson horse and working/riding Meg at home.

Meg Comes HomeTHANKS FOR YOUR VOTES & SUPPORT!!! I contacted the owners of several horses, only one of whom got back to me. (I had already asked Steve if he knew of one that would suit me, but he didn't). The horse I was interested in had already sold, but they invited me to come out and look at 2 others they had for sale. They explained that the horses had been their kid's mounts, and that they weren't really riding anymore (boys, girls, cars, high school, etc.) I went out, and really liked Meg. I rode her twice that day, including down the service road of a very busy highway. She was so quiet and easy going. They delivered her a few days later. Unfortunately, he had forgotten her papers. I thought she was a QH, and was very surprised when I got her papers to find out she was a Breeding Stock Paint. LOL, I'm the lady that never even thought of having a paint or pinto now had one of each!

CiscoTHANKS FOR YOUR VOTES & SUPPORT!!! Just so everyone doesn't think I'm a total git, we raised Appys for years, and I showed and did competitive trail riding, and trained several youngsters. Finally, I found an ad at the local tack store for a "Natural Horsemanship" trainer. When I asked if he was any good, the owner told me he was very, very good, especially with problem horses. I contacted him, explained my situation, and he said he could help. I went out to his place to meet him (and see what kind of facility he had), then took some lessons from him, both in the saddle and doing groundwork. I loved the way his horses looked and behaved. At this point, I knew I would send Cisco to him, so I started to look for another horse so Nugget wouldn't be alone, and also so I would have something to ride and work with. Found several horses after going on line to go look at. I did look at several in the area, but they were either way out of my price range, or nothing clicked.

Wishing I could ride him...During this time, while Cisco would stand quietly to be saddled, it was a huge fight to bridle him. Once saddled, he would lead quietly, but when asked to lunge, he would either run madly around bucking and kicking, or just lay down and refuse to get up. He actually broke the rear rigging on my saddle one day, he bucked so hard. This went on for a year. (During his first winter with me, Nugget's half-sister, Sunny, had to be put down due to Cushing's complications). I was also surprised, when he got his winter coat, that he was jet black. Sometimes when he lay down, I would sit on him and just wish I could ride this gorgeous horse. I started looking for training tips on line and began to get interested in Natural Horsemanship. I also started teaching him a few simple tricks: to bow, pick up something off the ground, and to follow me.

Vote #100I started feeding him very slowly, mostly hay to start and increased grain gradually. Within a few days, I was able to catch & halter him without too much trouble, (Yes, treats were involved) and turned him out with my 2 old mares, half sister's by the same stallion. Discovered he adored being groomed, so we did lots of that. What he DIDN'T like, and would NOT tolerate, was anyone handling his feet. Worked and worked with him until I could pick his feet up, then had a farrier out. It was a disaster. After several months, he would allow his front feet to be trimmed, but not his hind feet. We went thru several farrier's (several of whom told me he was nothing but an outlaw and I should either get rid of him or have him put down), before I found one that would work with him, but again, could usually only get the front done. He offered to take him in for training, stating "That horse just needs to be thrown, tied down and shown who's boss". Yeah, like that was gonna happen!

He finally arrived (his name was Cochise at this point, but it just didn't suit him, so I renamed him after the best horse I could think of). I shut the gate when they pulled into the yard, and went to get him out of the trailer, only to told "Oh, no, we need to pull into a pen and let him out there" Pointed out he wasn't going to go anywhere with the gate shut, and then I opened the trailer and unloaded him. I led him out to 100x200' pen with a run-in shed, and he went quietly for me. When I went to take his halter off, again I was told "Don't do that, you'll never get it back on". Just smiled and said "I never leave halters on my horses". Cisco was so excited to be in a bigger area with GRASS, he immediately started eating anything that was even remotely green. This was mid August, so there wasn't much.

VotedThe next week, something made me stop in again. The horses were getting thinner. When I went over to his pen, he came up to me and when I looked into his eyes, it was like being lost. The man at the feed store came out and asked if I was interested, and I told him not really. He said the price was only $800. I asked if he was rideable, and he said sure, when he bucks, just turn him to the right. Said I'm sorry, I need something well broke and gentle. Well, of course, I stopped in the next week, had another look, and he came over to me and put his head on my shoulder and sighed. That was pretty much it. The feedstore owner came out and asked if I thought I might buy him, the price had gone down to $400 and if he didn't sell by the weekend, he was going to a sale. I went in the pen and asked him to move, and he glided around me. Asked if he could be delivered, and was told "Yes". Wrote out a check, and they were supposed to deliver him on Monday. Got a call Monday, was told it would be a couple of more days. And, yes, buying him was stupid and foolish, but I am so glad I did.

Hi, left votesI hadn't ridden anything but stable hacks since my wonderful mare, Old Nugget, had died over 25 yrs ago. I saw several horses up in very small, makeshift pens at a local feed store while driving by. They were standing in the hot July sun, no shade, with their heads down, except for one, whose head was up, watching the traffic go by. I felt so sorry for all of them. After several weeks of this, the one horse (a bay paint, so I thought) was still always alert, always staring at the road. Something made me stop in to look at him . His coat was staring, his ribs were showing, his hooves looked awful, and his mane and tail were matted. Told him, sorry fella, but you're just in too bad a shape. I could actually feel him staring at my back as I walked to the car and left.

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